Baseball is played on a field comprised of an outfield and an infield, with most of the action taking place on the infield. The infield is in the shape of a diamond, with first base, second base, third base, and home plate located in sequence at each point of the diamond. A player must progress counterclockwise from base to base to score a run. The team with the most runs at the end of the game wins. There is an equal distance between each adjacent base, but this distance varies depending on baseball league. For major league and most male adult baseball leagues, distance between adjacent bases is 90 feet. For “little league,” the distance between adjacent bases may be about 60 feet, with some other leagues also having varying sizes between 60-90 feet between adjacent bases.
Although baseball is a favorite pastime of many people, baseball's popularity combined with a finite number of permanent baseball fields can result in an unmet demand for full-sized baseball fields, where, for example, two or more baseball teams may have to share one baseball field for practice purposes. An insufficient number of fields may, among other negative results, limit practice time and thereby inhibit team progress and player development. To try and ameliorate this problem, when a playing surface exists with sufficient open space, coaches and/or players may set up makeshift infields using items on hand such as branches, coats, etc., as bases, or may use a portable set of bases. The accuracy of the layout of such infields, however, often depends to a large degree on fallible human judgment. The resulting inaccurate and imprecise measurements of such makeshift diamonds can lead to team practices that fail to sufficiently replicate real-game conditions, thus negatively impacting the judgments and expectations of players, and also lead to poor playing habits.
To attempt to achieve greater accuracy of base positions, some coaches, parents, and/or players may use string or tape to measure out the distance to each base one at a time—an often time-consuming process. Moreover, such string may become entangled with itself, other objects, and even players, as the string in some cases remains on the playing surface during play. In addition, such string must be removed from the playing surface by manual means, such as winding up the string on a reel by hand, which can be burdensome. Furthermore, some prior art devices attempting to set up an infield using strings or measuring tapes, whether requiring hand-reeling or not, may require substantial concentration and time. In addition some such devices may require the purchase of a “measuring ball base,” if not a whole new set of bases.
Thus there exists a need for an infield measuring and aligning device that may function quickly, conveniently, and accurately, thereby maximizing quality practice time for players and for coaches.